AN elderly man forced to get a taxi home from the Royal United Hospital after waiting almost eight hours for an arranged bus has complained, after the delay meant his partner had had to cope with a death in her family alone.

Staff from the Bath hospital called for an Arriva ambulance to take Derek Emery, 81, to his home in St Annes Close, Southwick, after he was discharged and were told it would arrive between 1pm and 5pm.

But after several delays the company said it would not be able to get to the hospital until 10.30pm, so Mr Emery got a taxi home instead.

The lengthy delay meant that his partner, Barbara Mason, was home alone when she learned of the death of her 28-year-old grandson Robert Mason, who lived in Wales and had been suffering with bowel cancer.

“I was told they were going to arrive by 5pm at the latest but after that time passed and there was still no sign of them I began to worry,” said the retired milkman, who had spent a week in the ACE OPU Ward undergoing blood tests.

“After they didn’t show up one of the hospital staff members called to ask where they were and they said they had to go to Bristol first so would arrive by 7.30pm instead.

“Again they failed to show up, so staff called again and they said it wouldn’t be until 10.30pm. Eventually I became fed up and asked for a taxi to take me home instead, which the hospital kindly paid for.

“It was a really agonising wait, especially as I knew Robert didn’t have long to live. When I eventually got home at around 10pm Barbara was absolutely distraught because she was all alone when she heard Robert had died.

"The last thing people my age want is to be kept waiting for hours and hours after receiving hospital treatment."

Mr Emery said the company had told him it would take 25 days to look into his complaint, after the incident on November 29.

However this week Andrew Cullen, National Head of Patient Transport Services for Arriva, told the Wiltshire Times: "I would like to apologise to Mr Emery for his recent experience of the patient transport service and for the distress caused by delays in his transport home.

"We have been in contact with Mr Emery to apologise directly and express our condolences to his family at this difficult time.

"A booking was made by Royal United Hospital at 12.53pm on November 29 to transport Mr Emery that afternoon with specialised requirements.

"As a patient transport provider, it is important that we balance the needs of on the day bookings with pre-planned bookings so we work closely with hospitals to ask for as much notice as possible, particularly for patients requiring the use of specialist equipment or a home assessment. 

"On the day of Mr Emery’s booking, we experienced a large number of bookings at the same time and were unable to send an appropriate crew/vehicle to attend to him in a timely way.

"We are committed to working with our healthcare colleagues to address the high levels of unplanned transport and ensure we provide a high quality service for patients in the south west."